Vertical Velocity: Taiwan Home to World’s Fastest Elevators

The elevators currently the fastest in the world were manufactured by the Japanese corporation Toshiba. Passengers are catapulted at a speed of 1,010 meters per minute, or 60 km/h, from the fifth to the 89th floor of Taipei 101. The ride in this Ferrari among elevators lasts a mere 37 seconds, at the end of which passengers step out already 382 meters above the ground at the observation floor of Taiwan’s tallest building.

Elevator speeds researched by Emporis, the international building-data provider, emphasize the pole position of the elevators in Taipei 101: the world’s second-fastest, located in the Yokohama Landmark Tower, “only” manages a speed of 750 meters per minute.

The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, only occupies third place in the list, with a maximum elevator speed of 36 km/h. The skyscraper of superlatives does however offer the world’s fastest double-decker elevators. What is more, the double-deckers’ passengers are also able to travel the longest distance currently possible in an elevator, exiting after a ride of 504 meters at the world’s highest stop, 638 meters up the building.

Overall, the race for the world’s fastest elevator is clearly being run in Asian cities. The elevators in Chicago’s John Hancock Center are the only ones not in Asia. What is more, 2014 will see a further attraction added to the continent: the elevators that Mitsubishi is set to install in the Shanghai Tower will take over as the world’s fastest at a speed of 64.8 km/h. The tower itself will become the world’s second-tallest building on completion.

From 2014 onward, with the Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin Mao Tower, there will be no fewer than three skyscrapers containing some of the world’s fastest elevators located right next door to one another. For skyscraper fans looking for spectacular elevator rides, Shanghai will be impossible to ignore.